By: Hans Themistode
Leonard Ellerbe couldn’t help but smile once it was revealed that Deontay Wilder won his legal arbitration against Tyson Fury.
The former WBC heavyweight titlist enlisted the help of Daniel Weinstein as he pursued a third showdown with Fury. After settling for a draw in December of 2018, Wilder was handed the first loss of his career in February of 2020 via seventh-round stoppage. While the Alabama native enacted his immediate rematch clause, Fury grew impatient as surgery to Wilder’s left bicep as well as the uncertainty of COVID-19 left their third contest up in the air.
Rather than continue to wait, Fury attempted to move forward with an undisputed showdown against unified titlist, Anthony Joshua. Despite promoter Eddie Hearn publicizing that a showdown between the pair was a virtual guarantee, Ellerbe believes he underestimated the entire arbitration process.
“You got one guy who does a lot of talking and that’s his job to do that,” said Ellerbe during an interview with FightHype.com. “But in this situation, they miscalculated the whole arbitration. They thought they could just move on but it played its course and we see what the results are.”
Those previously mentioned results, saw Wilder emerge victorious from their legal dispute. Now, Fury has no choice but to face Wilder by September 15th. Unwilling to protract their contest any longer, promoter Bob Arum has stated that their third contest will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Allegiant Stadium on July 24th.
With their matchup officially set in stone, Ellerbe didn’t mince words in terms of who he wants to win.
“I hope he beats the dog sh*t out of Fury.”
At first glance, the words of Ellerbe would appear to be coming from a man who is holding a grudge against the British native. On the contrary, Ellerbe doesn’t have an issue with Fury at all. But, after spending the better part of a year listening to Fury gloat and run Wilder’s name through the mud, Ellerbe is simply hoping that he’ll make him eat his words.
“I don’t have any issues with any of them but I just hope he beats the sh*t out of him. He talks a lot of sh*t, a lot of sh*t. I wanna see him bring that same energy in the third fight.”